on Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's Disease - Introduction
Your wife always forgets where she put her keys, but last Tuesday she couldn't remember what the keys were for. Your grandfather takes a walk around the neighborhood every day. But four times in the last month he couldn't find his way home without help from a neighbor. Your beloved uncle can't remember your name or the names of your husband and children.
Memory loss, confusion, and disorientation are common symptoms of dementia, a mental decline. Alzheimer's is the most common form of this disease worldwide.
Sadly, many people refuse to acknowledge that these symptoms indicate something is wrong. They think it's just aging, but it's not.
Some symptoms develop gradually and go unnoticed for a long time. Sometimes people refuse to act on the disease, despite knowing that something is wrong. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor when a person feels these symptoms in a close family member. Only a doctor can correctly diagnose the condition.
The situation cannot be restored to its former state , but much can be done to preserve quality of life and slow further deterioration despite a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. You can get help and learn how to care for a person who is deteriorating mentally and functionally, and how and where the caregiver can receive help and support. For more information, contact the association.
Only a doctor can decide whether a particular medical treatment is appropriate for a patient.
stages of the disease
It is common to distinguish three stages of the disease. The average duration of each stage is two to four years.
| Early stage | Middle stage | Final stage | |
| זיכרון | Short-term memory loss, difficulty remembering names or words, misplacing objects, difficulty finding your way around. | Worsening of short-term memory loss, preserved ability to remember events from the more distant past, loss of learning ability, inability to process new memories. | Total loss. |
| Cognitive ability | Difficulty performing complex tasks such as managing finances and work, difficulty keeping track of time. | Difficulty choosing and making decisions, difficulty concentrating, poor judgment, loss of sense of time, disorientation, failure to perform simple calculations. | Total loss. |
| Mood and behavior | Mood changes, loss of interest in leisure and social activities, decreased spontaneity, confusion, tendency towards depression and aggression. | Extreme mood swings, sleep disturbances, apathy, lack of interest in close people, suspiciousness, delusions, and sometimes visual and auditory hallucinations. Wandering also characterizes this stage. | Passivity, indifference to what is happening, complete loss of ability to recognize close people and objects. |
Risk Factors
Many diseases do not affect the entire population equally.
Different people in the population are prone to developing diseases, whether due to the genetic makeup they inherited from their parents, due to lifestyle and habits, or due to the existence of other diseases from which they suffer or have suffered in the past.
By identifying risk factors early, it is possible to determine the level of risk and build a personalized plan for proper therapeutic and preventive intervention.
The importance of the genetic factor increases when combined with environmental factors.
Among the identified causes: hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. Treatment of hypertension reduces the chance of the disease occurring. Treatment with lipid-lowering drugs, especially statins
It also reduces the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease.
It has also been found that the risk of developing the disease increases among smokers, who increase their chances of developing a particular disease. Another possible risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease is high levels of homocysteine in the blood, in which case treatment includes administering B vitamins.
Prof. Yoram Barak reviews guidelines for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease as formulated by four medical teams in Israel - experts in family medicine, neurology, geriatrics and psychiatry. "Collective Memory" Haaretz, December 18, 2011. For the article click here
Warning signs
Here is a list of common signs of dementia. If you think the symptoms listed below are consistent with the behavior of the person you are concerned about, it is advisable to consult a doctor who specializes in dementia (neurologist, psychiatrist, or geriatrician) for a thorough examination.
Memory loss that affects work
It's natural to occasionally forget tasks, colleagues' names, or co-workers' phone numbers, and then later remember them. Those with dementia (such as Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia) may forget things more often and not remember them later.
Difficulty completing familiar tasks
Busy people may, from time to time, not notice, leave the dish in the oven and remember to serve it only at the end of the meal. Alzheimer's patients may prepare a meal and not only forget its ingredients, but even forget that they prepared it at all.
Language problems
Everyone occasionally encounters difficulty finding the right word, but will manage to finish the sentence with another appropriate word. An Alzheimer's patient may forget simple words or replace them with inappropriate words, and in an advanced stage of the disease, make the entire sentence incomprehensible.
Disorientation in time and place
It's natural to momentarily forget what day it is or where you're going. Alzheimer's patients may get lost on their own street, not knowing where they are, how they got there, or how to get home.
Impaired or deteriorating judgment
A person may be so engrossed in their activities or a phone call that they momentarily forget about the child in their care. Alzheimer's patients may completely forget that a child is in their care. They may have difficulty dressing or dress in an odd way, such as layering several shirts on top of each other, or dressing in a way that is not appropriate for the season.
Problems with abstract thinking
People who normally calculate and balance their checkbooks may get confused if the calculation is more complicated than usual, but will eventually come to a solution. An Alzheimer's patient may completely forget what numbers are and what to do with them.
Putting things out of place
Anyone can misplace their wallet or keys from time to time. An Alzheimer's patient may often forget where they put their belongings or place things in inappropriate places, for example: the iron in the freezer or the watch in the sugar bowl.
Changes in mood or behavior
Everyone has a bad day and may feel sad or moody from time to time. A person with Alzheimer's or another type of dementia may experience extreme mood swings for no apparent reason, such as going from calm to tears, to anger, and back to calm again – all in a short period of time.
Personality changes
A person's personality usually changes to some extent with age. In a dementia patient, the personality changes may be noticeable: a quiet and easygoing person may become irritable, irritable, suspicious, and sometimes submissive, as they were not before. Dementia usually makes patients apathetic, so that the patient will show a lack of concern in their relationships with people who were close to them in the past.
Loss of initiative
It is natural to become tired from household chores, business activities, or social obligations, but most people return to showing initiative and interest. A person with dementia may become passive and need encouragement to engage in various activities.
Ten Signs Leaflet in Hebrew >>
Article by Dr. Noa Bergman, Director of the Center for Memory and Concentration Disorders, Tel Aviv Medical Center, on the subject of Alzheimer's disease - a population at risk and the development of new treatments. To read the article, click here
For information on "5 important messages you need to know about dementia" click here